Combined ignition and radio system.



H. II. VAN DEVENIER.

COMBINED IGNITION AND RADIO SYSTEM, APPLICATION FILED APR.20,1915.

UNITED STATES lra',ritiri? carica. g

HARRY RANDOLPH VAN DEVENTER, OF vSUIiI'IEIlEI, SOUTH CAROLINA, .ASSGNOB,BY HESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TU SPLITDOBF ELECTRICAL CGMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, A CORPOBATIQN OF NEW JERSEY. i

HBINED IGNITION AND RADIO SYSTEM.

Specication of Letters atexit.

Patented June e, 191e.

Appucauen :ned April 2o, isis., serial No. 22,585.

To all 'whom z't m ay concern Be it known that I, HARRY RANDOLPH VAN-DEVENTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sumter, in thecounty of -Sumter and State of South Carolina, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Combined Ignition and Radio, Systems, of'which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanyin drawing. T

' 'his invention relates to combined 'ignition and radio s stems andmore particuy larly to the use yo what is commonly termed gh tensiongenerator so arranged as .t0 deliver current for jump spark ignition puroses, which can, at the same time, be

use as n source of energy for radio transmission in connection with anysuitable form of apparatus.

High tension generators or magnetos for" ignition are in common use inconnection' with internal combustion engines. Wireless hicles driven bytelegraph systems are often installed onvesuch engines, for instance,aeroplanes and airships.

My invention, for the sake'of illustration, may be considered as-ap liedto'l au. aeroplane engine. Here it wil be evident that among itsadvantages are the elimination of batteries heretofore necessary forsupplying the radio equipment, a reduction in weight, as only a singlegenerator for both the engine ignitionvand the wireless is used; sim--plicity of connections and apparatus, and a wound armature type inwhichthe revol'ublearmature cai-riesaprimary and secondar Winding, orthe type of generator in vyhic a revolving elementl is employed whichdoes not carry the windin s, the latter being- Vrelatively lined. I preer the lettertype of magneto and for the sake of illutration show msystem as usedntherewitli. I show here on y sudicient parts of saidmagneto to properly illustrate my invention, as the operation` andconstruction 'of such a magneto is already welt-known to those skilledin the art, except in regard to the special construction .hereindescribed and claimed.

1 denotes the usual magnet. 2 the shaft of the rotating element whichcomprises the magneticrlmembers 3 and 4 of perma- -nent and oppositepolarity. Carried on insl the shaftl is the gear 5 whicl engagesdistributer geai'nvhicli carries the rotatingv element Tof thedistributer arranged to contact in the normal way with thesegments 8 andJTwhich connect to' the spark plug cables, one of which is shown. at 10.The.

rotating element 7 of the distributer is 00n- -nected to a terminal post11.- The generating coil 12 of the magneto is supported in a movablefield structure comprising the pole' piece's, one of which is shown at13, the magnetic end plates 14 and'15 and nonmagnetic rin s 16 andy i7:This .structure together wit the intf-rrupter mechanism comprising thebox or casing 18, the cam 19 and the usual interrupter contacts 20 and21 :is angularly adjustable about the axis of the rotor by means of thehandle 22 for .the purpose of varyingthe timing of the ignition.

The coil 12 carries two windings, a primary and secondary, one end ofthe secondary being grounded on the core of the coil and the ree end ofsame connecting to the contact member. 23 which is freely movable withthe coil and which 'engages a fixed con-- tact member 24 carried on theinsulated block 25 positioned' in the bend 'of the magnet. Thecircuit'being completed from 23 to 24 is carried from 24 by any suitablevmeans to the terminal 26 and also to a safety spark gap point 27 whichis located at suiiicient distance from the edge ofthe magnet l -to onlyoperate when the'gap in the external .circuit is excessive. It Will nowbe observed that there is a' circuit for the secondary current from thecoil by Way of 'contacts 23-and 24 to sparkv gap point 27 to the magnetsor frame ofthe machine and to the-core ofthe coil, or by Way of contactsaudi toterminel 26' and that if the 20 syntonic systeml such as theBraun..

latter connected to terminal il, the circeuit will be completed by way fthe travA "cling Contact 7 ot the distributer to the ya, rions sparkplug terminals, tvoof Winch .5 are indicated at 8 and 9 and passing overthe cables l0, the current Will be completed through the spark plugs inthe engine and back to the frame of the magnet, a plug being indicated.at 28 and the path of the 10 secondary current theretln'ough beingindicated by the-connecting dotted lines. It. will be` observed thatterminals l1 and 2 6' form a gap'in series in the secondary circuit ofthe magneto between the high tension generating winding and thedietributer and to these terminals l connect any suitable forni otradiotransmitting equipment.

l shoev here. diagrammatimilly the apparatus coinnxonly used inconnection with a Suitable condcusers and 3l) are employed in connectionwith the primary 3l, ol a suitable transformer, the secondary of whichconnects to the radiating Wires 33 and which may be oit suitableinductance and capacity in accordance with the results desired. `Anysuitable method of operating the sending circuit may be employed. l showa key arranged in an opeuatiye manner.

3g Motors as now commonly constructed have 6 and 8 cylinders, and in thecase oli the latter running at ordinary speeds and driving the magnetohaving a distributor arranged for 8 cylinders, approximately g5 12.000impulses per minute will flow in the circuit between the coil l2 and themoving member .'Ifof the distributer. These iinl pulses it willbe'observed may pass througl'i the radio equipment consisting of thecon- 40 densers 29 and 30 and the winding 31 and the passage ot thiscurrent may be suitably deflected from said condensers and winding bythe operation oit` the key 35, or it it is not desired to use the radioequipment, key 35 may be arranged to be permanently closed.

in any well-known manner. And' it is obvious that it the -l-;\.y 1soperated at the usual rate of speed as used in `hand teleg-` raphy thatthe ignition circuit will not be materially interfered with. In fact bythe proper adjustment of the condensers 29 and 30 and the coil 3l, I.find it practical to opcrate the system as shown with practically noeffect on the ignition the flow of current through the spark plugs ispractically uninterrupted.

One serious objection to a combined system as just described has beenthe attempt to utilize generators in which the intensity of the spark`was varied in unison With the ignition tin'iing. ln theqireterred formof generator here shown thecoil 12 is angularly adjustable about theartis of the magneto shaft for timing purposes and the intensity of thecurrent is not varied by the position intcrrupter contacts 2O and '1 9is the cam operating the interrupter.. It 'will be seen that one end otthe secondary luriruling 37 connects lo the terminal. and spark ot"L 1itt* fr NVV gap point .al an( tia ne moraine mem )ci 7 of the distributeris coxulected to terirnual 11. 26 and ll connect to the wire-lessclp/uprnent as shown.

It will be'understood that many modihcaf tions and departures can bemade from the` mechanical arrangement as here shown. Therefore theinvention consists broadly in the combination between a high tensionignition magneto and a nradio transmitting 38 is the condenser acrossthe- 'Ily equipment vand more specifically with means whereby' the radioequipment may be con-- nected in the high tension Vcircuit or themagneto without rendering the current flow ing therein unfit forignition purposes, and

also lthe arrangement whereby the timmv l r) ot the magneto may bevaried without affecting the intensity ot' the current in the' radiocircuit.

Having thus described my invention, I

l. The combination With (renerator having primary and secondarycircuitsy of a ilistributer, ignition spr King devices eonnectedthereto, a circuit l tween said secondary circuit and distributer., Sarkgap terminals in said circuit monnet on said generator and radiosignaling means con lnected to the terminals ot' said spark gap.

2. The combinati on with a generator hun. ing primary and secondarywindings and circuits, of a distributer, .ignition sparking devicesconnected thereto, a circuit between said secondary circuit and saiddist-ributer, a safety spark gap between said circuit and the frame oithe generator, a spark gap 'in series in said secondary circuit betweensaid secondary Winding and distributor, and radio signaling meansconnected. to said last ,y mentioned gap.

3. In combination with an ignition dynamo having a high tension Winding,one end whereof is connected to the fame of said the frame of saiddynamo for generating electric oscillations in the. radio-signalingmeans.

4. In combination, an ignition dynamo comprising primary field, anormally fixed secondary field structure having adjustable poles,revoluble means associated with the primary field -for directin the fluxtherefrom through'said secon ary poles alter nately and oppositely, acoil on said structure, a lever connected to the secondary field andadapted when moved to turn the same so as to effect an angulardisplacement of the secondary tield poles to advance and retard thespark, and radio signaling means connected to said coil.

In combination, an ignition dynamo comprising field magnets, a normallyfixed adjustable generating coil in the space within the magnets, aninsulating block mounted within the field magnets, and adjacent saidcoil, a fixed contact on said block, a movable contact carried on thecoil together. with circuit connections completed through said contacts,said connections including radio signaling mea-ns.

6. In combination with an ignition dynamo having a permanent magneticlield structure with a power shaft journaled in bearings in its oppositelimbs, a rotor, a generating coil between the limbs separate from saidrotor, an interrupter and a distributer outside one limb and connectedto the .power shaft, ay circuit connecting said coil and distributer,radio signaling means connected to said circuit and means vin saidcircuit for generating electric oscillations for the radio-signalingmeans.

7. In combination, an ignition dynamo,

a generating coil, a current supply circuit therein, a plurality )tigniting devices connected therewith, radio signaling means connected tosaid supply circuit, and means whereby the timing of said ignitingdevices may be varied without affecting the intensity of the current insaid supply circuit, said means including a timing lever external saiddynamo whereby said generating vcoil may be axially adjusted in relationtothe shaft of said dynamo. 5

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my` signature in the presence oftwo Witnesses.

HARRY RANDOLPH VAN DEVENTER. Witnesses: f

E. H. RHAME, c EDNA IsLER.

